It's always kismet to me when two interviews I do in the same week end up having so much in common, even when the founders and the work they do look completely different on the surface. After speaking with them, I kept coming back to one thing: humanity. More specifically, what it means to be human and how we connect with one another.

I think we're a little out of touch with that these days. We're constantly glued to our phones, scrolling, consuming information, responding to messages, and yeah yeah yeah, AI (though I do love it for operational tasks). Stopping and smelling the roses has never felt more important, but how often are we actually doing that? Slowing down, taking in the world around us, and being present in what's happening right in front of us. Not sure about you, but I've felt like time is moving at a faster pace than ever. Days meld together, work drags on, and at least for me, I've felt more detached than ever from the people outside my own home, including friends and family. I think our two featured founders and I can agree: we're having a human connection problem.

Sitting down with both Lakshmi Rengarajan and Audrey Connelly, I had a few moments where I just needed to pause and take in what they were saying. They both spoke so eloquently, yet so simply, about human connection and what it means to be human. There were times I found myself quiet, not because I didn't have another question or something to say, but because I was processing, thinking, connecting what they were sharing to my own experiences, and just being present in the conversation. I wasn't thinking about how I'd turn their answers into a story or what I needed to ask next. I was simply taking it all in.

Both women are connectors at heart. They care about helping people understand one another, creating opportunities for connection, and bringing a little more humanity into the spaces they occupy. And after spending time with them, I walked away feeling like we could all use that reminder. 

Nothing groundbreaking, I know. But maybe that's the point. Sometimes the simplest things are the ones we need to be reminded of most. So after you read these lovely stories about this week’s founders, go touch some grass, call your mom, don’t cancel that happy hour after work, or go take a walk with your friend.